WRC 3: FIA World Rally Championship

This is by far the best rally game by Milestone yet, offering a solid experience with challenging track design. But even though it is vastly improved, visually it still is not up to challenge the likes of DiRT, Gran Turismo 5 or Forza.

WRC 3: FIA World Rally Championship is not going to set the fire alight in the world of racing games, but it does what it set out to do – supply fans of rally games with a solid rallying experience that is entertaining.

A really decent game that can keep you playing for a few afternoons. Unfortunately limitations imposed by its low budget are evident. [CD-Action 13/2012, p.58]

Unexpected rise from the ashes – the third title of the WRC series is not flawless but is finally playable. [Dec 2012]

WRC 3's lightweight handling and lack of diversity means it fails to hit the heights achieved by other racing games.

WRC3's excellent track design counts for little when burdened with unnatural car handling and uninspired design.

WRC 3, compared to its two predecessors, finally caught up a bit, but still loses against the one year old DiRT 3. Same as SBK Generations, also from Milestone Studio, the game has improved a bit but there are still better and more realistic titles out there. On the one hand the game looks quite good and the damage model is impressive, on the other hand WRC 3 offers poor atmosphere and presentation.

It's totally okay that WRC 3 doesn't have the finely-tuned stylings of the bigger racing brands. Real rallying has become somewhat of an endangered species, so I'm fully prepared to even overlook the career mode that is all but completely absent here. Where a game like this absolutely cannot fail, though, is in the connection of car and road, which sadly is what WRC 3 does. Theoretically this could have been much, much worse, to be fair. And WRC 3 might even find some friends amongst the most starving of Rallye fans. But that's only because this is basically their only option right now.